Stožice Sports Park ( sl, Športni park Stožice) is a multi-use sports complex in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, Slovenia, that hosts basketball and football departments of sports club Olimpija Ljubljana. The sports park is located in

Bežigrad District The Bežigrad District ( sl, Četrtna skupnost Bežigrad), or simply Bežigrad (), is a district () of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It encompasses the northern part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, between the southern rail line to th ...

, north of the city centre and next to the highway bypass.

History

The inaugural event was held on 10 August 2010, when

Arena Stožice The Stožice Arena ( sl, Arena Stožice) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was designed by Slovenian Sadar Vuga d.o.o. architects and is the biggest indoor arena in the country. It lies in the Bežigrad district ...

hosted a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

match between

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, which was won by Spain 79–72 after

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. The next day,

Stožice Stadium Stožice Stadium ( sl, Stadion Stožice) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was designed by Slovenian Sadar + Vuga architects and is the biggest football stadium in the country. It is one of two main stadiu ...

hosted a football match between

and Australia, won by Slovenia 2–0. The stadium and the arena are used as main venues of Slovenian national teams in football, basketball and handball, and as venues for concerts and other culture events.

Construction

Construction of the venue commenced in June 2009 and was completed in August 2010. The complex was built at an estimated cost of €119 million (of which €9 million was provided by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

), with €55 million spent on the stadium and the remaining €64 million on the arena. In addition to the arena and stadium, the complex was also to encompass a large shopping centre, however, the latter was never constructed due to lack of funding and is currently without a clear timeline for completion. Further controversy arose in March 2011, when it was revealed that the European Commission had demanded of the

Government of Slovenia The Government of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Vlada Republike Slovenije) exercises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia. The governmen ...

to produce a report on the bidding process, alleging that the process for obtaining EC funds had been rigged in a way which positioned this particular project as the only in Slovenia to qualify for said funds. A month later, Slovenia's Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy completed the revision of the bidding process and reported certain irregularities.

References

External links

Project details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stozice Sports Park Football venues in Slovenia Sports venues in Ljubljana Bežigrad District 2010 establishments in Slovenia Sports venues completed in 2010 Basketball venues in Slovenia Handball venues in Slovenia